The Ev For Everybody —
We bought this Leaf for my wife to commute to work and to run around town. She originally wanted a Prius but after one drive of that car we were not impressed. It had poor power and the whole center mounting of the controls was odd. Then we drove the Leaf and BANG what a difference. I love this because I have one car that has never been in a gas station and requires so little to do to it. With past cars I always had to be nagging my wife about oil changes and she would always run the oil too long and it would end up a quart low. With this car, you do the brake fluid every once in a while and get it plugged into the computer to check the batteries. I bought an 8 year warranty, wish I could have that money back now, it was a waste, this is such a well engineered car.

Primary Use: Commuting to work

Pros:
Of course it uses no gas so cheap to run. It is very simple to maintain, no oil changes or other fluids to change. the car has had zero issues, in over 32k I mean nothing, not one thing has gone wrong

Cons:
the 2011 had a hump in the rear cargo area that really hampers the cargo room but they fixed that. I would like to see more range out of the Leaf in the future

Well-engineered —
Air conditioner works great. Plenty of power. Can drive around town all day, but highway speeds (65-75) deplete the batteries much more quickly, as expected. The car is a joy to drive. It's quick, nimble, quiet, and comfortable. Can't help but realize a whole lot of thoughtful engineering went into it.

I Don't Know If I Will Ever Want To Drive A Car With A Gasoline Engine Again. —
I've had my 2011 Leaf for a year now and I put over 12,000 miles on the car in that amount of time with no money spent on any kind of maintenance or fuel. I learned a lot about the car after owning it a few months. The car isn't expensive at all to charge , I didn't notice much of a difference in my electric bill. You don't need an expensive home charger installed and the car doesn't have to be charged to 100 percent everyday. The car has more interior space than most small cars and plenty of cargo space, a 15 gallon air compressor will fit in the back with hose and air tools. I was very surprised at how fast this car is . I drive this car like I would any other car, I drive the speed limit or maybe a little over . Over all I'm very happy with this car an would certainly by another one if I found the right deal. I bought my Leaf shopping on car cargurus for $21,500 with 795 miles on it. The dealer was asking $27,000, dropped it to $24,000 and I sent my offer for $21,500 , they accepted.

Primary Use: Commuting to work

Pros:
No fuel, no maintenance and quite . No more stopping to purchase fuel, plug the car in at night and when you wake up in the morning the car is charged

Cons:
This car isn't for everybody's lifestyle. This car has a range of less than 100 miles before needing charged. I use this car for work and my route is 67 miles round trip so the car works perfect for me.

Great Car —
I purchased this car for $21,500 cash with only 756 miles on it. I've been driving it for 7 months now and it has 7,500 miles on it now and I'm very pleased since I spent over $3500.00 last year in fuel and so far I haven't had to purchase any .
I use this car for work and I drive roughly 70 miles round trip and the car is charged when I sleep . The car can be charged with the 120V charger that comes with the car or purchase a level II charger for around $800.00 . I get all the charge I need from the regular charger.
I was spending over $3500.00 a year in fuel in my Honda Element which just didn't seem normal when there was a car on the market that didn't use fuel.

A Real Electric Car Alternative —
This is really the first usable electric car on the market. While the Tesla Roadster was a great car, it was made for midgets and was over 100k to buy. This car is a mass produced all electric car that uses the standard for power adapters. Telsa is making a huge mistake by going with propriatry ones that only work with their cars, I think that someone will make an adapter or they will wake up and change them. If you setup a separate meter like I did the power you use is VERY cheap as the power companies are giving great prices to people with Electric cars.

Primary Use: Commuting to work

Pros:
Cheap as dirt to run, emits ZERO emissions, no oil changes, tranny or rear end fluids or other frequent changers, tune-ups are essentially nothing.

Cons:
You only can drive 100 miels at a time, the charger is going to cost almost 2k to install and the car isn't the best looking car on the road (the wife feels different about that comment)

Only 95% Of Americans Could Make It A Daily Driver! —
Has some pick up in non- economy at low speed. Could almost blend in with
gasoline cars, even from behind the wheel. Range suites 70% to 95% of drivers if
people can get comfortable with the 100% electric power train. Packed with
features, to make it a very smart car. Rare but potentially dependable energy
saving LED headlights

Powered By The Sun —
Excellent acceleration, more upscale than expected, a bit smallish on the interior, especially the trunk. Overall fun to drive (especially on the car pool lane). Of course no need for gas stations, altough range could be better. Reality is about 70-80 miles vs. the advertised 100 miles.

Primary Use: Commuting to work

Pros:
Acceleration, interior, and of course "fuel" economy. Charging at home with solar panels makes it the ultimate green car at least for the time being

Cons:
Nothing to hate, range could be better, no spare tire (I have bought one after a first flat tire experience)

Reviews From Other Years

The Best Car I've Owned.By bwkk

I like everything about this car. The time saved filling up gas. The time saved waiting at the dealerships for maintenance. The car has very good pickup. The total cost of ownership of this car is les...
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My Favorite Car By iriedodge

This car penciled out with gas savings, and rebate to be nearly free. It has plenty of power, and pep - seemingly more than most internal combustion engine cars I have driven. Price would have been a...
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Love It!By swelter

I'd drive it everyday if my wife would share better. I hate driving my gas car now. Can't wait until we can get another electric. Not only are we saving tons of money on gas but I feel much better ...
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Good Commuter CarBy Arddrea

Eco mode's acceleration is very similar in to my 98 JXI.
Normal mode acceleration rocks.
Handling sucks (first non sports car).
Snow is like ice.
NO HAND BRAKE! I need to figure out how to corr...
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